In many cases, an X-ray inspection machine used in a medical field converts an X-ray into a visible light and the like by a fluorescent plate and sensitizes a film that is closely contacted to the fluorescent plate, because it is necessary to correctly detect an abnormal part of a patient. According to a method adopted in the X-ray inspection machine, there is no problem as regards a resolution of an image at a practical level. However, it takes time from measurement to diagnosis. Also, when specifying a measuring place, it depends on a skill and a sense of an X-ray technician in many areas.
In recent years, a large scale area sensor represented by amorphous silicon and the like has been developed to increase the reliability thereof. Also, the developments for performing the X-ray inspection in real time and using an emphasis image to thus increase an efficiency of abnormal diagnosis have been actively made, considering the merit of using the amorphous silicon and the easy large-sizing.
An array substrate of the large scale area sensor used in a radiographic imaging apparatus has a configuration where pixels having switching elements such as thin film transistors and photoelectric conversion elements such as photodiodes are arranged two-dimensionally. In addition to this, the array substrate has gate lines that supply a voltage to the switching elements and bias lines for reading photovoltaic power of the photoelectric conversion elements. The switching element is provided at an intersection point of the gate line and the data line and the bias line is provided to intersect the pixel that is defined by the intersection of the gate line and the data line.
By using the above array substrate, when preparing an image using detected electric signals, correction values of the signals for the respective pixels are provided, so that an even image can be obtained. Also, it is possible to correct a defect pixel by image processing. A cluster defect such as line defect becomes a defect, in that it cannot be corrected. Also, when an electric characteristic is changed as regards a correction value, the right correction cannot be made, so that the line defect is recognized as a point defect.
As technologies for repairing the defects, a method of cutting an electrode or wiring with laser light or method of cutting a resist pattern has been known (refer to JP-A-2004-179645, JP-A-2005-302751, JP-A-2007-201365 and JP-A-2006-053405). Also, a technology of performing image processing has been known in which when a pixel having a defect that cannot be repaired remains, a defect pixel is stored in advance in a system of a radiographic imaging apparatus and an image of the stored defect pixel is interpolated with an output of surrounding pixels (refer to JP-A-2002-9272 (page 3) and JP-A-2011-19591).